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The Rise and Fall of Female Labor Force Participation During World War II in the United States

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  • Rose, Evan K.

Abstract

I use new data on employment and job placements during WWII to characterize the wartime surge in female work and its subsequent impact on female employment in the United States. The geography of female wartime work was primarily driven by industrial mobilization, not drafted men’s withdrawal from local labor markets. After the war, returning veterans and sharp cutbacks in war-related industries displaced many new female entrants, despite interest in continued work. As a result, areas most exposed to wartime work show limited overall effects on female labor force participation in 1950 and only marginal increases in durables manufacturing employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Rose, Evan K., 2018. "The Rise and Fall of Female Labor Force Participation During World War II in the United States," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 78(3), pages 673-711, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:78:y:2018:i:03:p:673-711_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Gonzalez, Felipe & Prem, Mounu & von Dessauer, Cristine, 2023. "Empowerment or Indoctrination? Women Centers Under Dictatorship," SocArXiv 64mf9, Center for Open Science.
    2. Jörn Boehnke & Victor Gay, 2022. "The Missing Men: World War I and Female Labor Force Participation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(4), pages 1209-1241.
    3. Bond, Timothy N. & Giuntella, Osea & Lonsky, Jakub, 2023. "Immigration and work schedules: Theory and evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    4. Elliot Moiteaux & Clément Bosquet & Paul Maarek, 2021. "Routine-biased technological change and wages by education level: Occupational downgrading and displacement effects," THEMA Working Papers 2021-05, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    5. Victor Gay, 2023. "The Intergenerational Transmission of World War I on Female Labour," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(654), pages 2303-2333.
    6. Alexander J. Field, 2023. "The decline of US manufacturing productivity between 1941 and 1948," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(4), pages 1163-1190, November.
    7. Mary Kate Batistich & Timothy N Bond, 2023. "Stalled Racial Progress and Japanese Trade in the 1970s and 1980s," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(6), pages 2792-2821.
    8. Braun, Sebastian & Stuhler, Jan, 2024. "The Economic Consequences of Being Widowed by War: A Life-Cycle Perspective," CEPR Discussion Papers 19040, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. González, Felipe & Prem, Mounu & von Dessauer, Cristine, 2024. "Empowerment or Indoctrination? Female Training Programs under Dictatorship," IZA Discussion Papers 17163, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Bose, Gautam & Jain, Tarun & Walker, Sarah, 2022. "Women’s labor force participation and household technology adoption," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    11. Margo Beck & Sara LaLumia, 2022. "Female Role Models and Labor Force Participation: The Case of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 488-517, October.
    12. Anna Aizer & Ryan Boone & Adriana Lleras-Muney & Jonathan Vogel, 2020. "Discrimination and Racial Disparities in Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from WWII," NBER Working Papers 27689, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Lennon, Conor, 2023. "Women’s educational attainment, marriage, and fertility: Evidence from the 1944 G.I. Bill," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    14. Victor Gay, 2023. "The Intergenerational Transmission of World War I on Female Labour," Working Papers hal-02523129, HAL.
    15. Victor Gay, 2017. "The Legacy of the Missing Men: The Long-Run Impact of World War I on Female Labor Force Participation," 2017 Papers pga905, Job Market Papers.
    16. Miriam Fritzsche, 2024. "De-industrialization, local joblessness and the male-female employment gap," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0040, Berlin School of Economics.
    17. Galina Besstremyannaya & Sergei Golovan, 2022. "Instrumental Variable Quantile Regression For Clustered Data," HSE Working papers WP BRP 255/EC/2022, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    18. Boehnke, Jörn & Gay, Victor, 2020. "The Missing Men: World War I and Female Labor Force Participation," TSE Working Papers 20-1064, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    19. ASAI, Kentaro & KAMBAYASHI, Ryo, 2023. "The Consequences of Hometown Regiment : What Happened in Hometown When the Soldiers Never Returned?," Discussion Paper Series 743, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    20. Anti, Sebastian & Zhang, Zhihui, 2023. "Roads, women’s employment, and gender equity: Evidence from Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    21. Jongkwan Lee, 2023. "The impact of a local human capital shock: evidence from World War II veterans," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1765-1798, July.

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